MOSCOW, January 16. /TASS/. A popular vote on constitutional amendments, proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in his State of the Nation Address on Wednesday, may take place during the single voting day in September, a Russian senator told TASS.
"A vote of this kind may take place in September, on the single voting day. As far as I understand, the president already has certain variants of those amendments. It will not be a referendum on a draft constitution, it will be a citizens’ vote and their stance on concrete initiatives, related to the proposed amendments," said Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building Yelena Mizulina.
In his State of the Nation Address to the Federal Assembly on Wednesday, the Russian president suggested amending the country’s Constitution, including vesting the State Duma with powers to approve the prime minister, deputy prime ministers and the federal ministers. According to the proposal, the president will be obliged to appoint the proposed candidates.
Putin said that at the moment, in accordance with Article 111 and Article 112 of Russia’s Constitution, the president just secures the State Duma's consent to appoint the chairman of the government, and after that he appoints the head of government, his deputies and all ministers. The president also suggested appointing heads of security agencies after consultations with the Federation Council.
Later in the day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin would sign a decree determining the timeframe and procedure of the vote on constitutional amendments.